The Census Bureau has released the 2010 report on poverty in America.

It is difficult to discover anything but estimates on the number of non-citizens living in the United States. Some of these are legal residents. Others have overstayed visas or just crossed the border without documentation.

In its annual report, the Census Bureau attempts to estimate this data and the number of non-citizens living in poverty. These are estimates and could be off by hundreds of thousands. How does this happen?

• The 2010 Census, used to apportion the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as for many other uses reports that the population of the United States was 308,745,538.
• The Report on Poverty in the United States, on page 15, Table 4, shows a population of 305,688,000.
• The Census Bureau’s report titled Nativity Status and Citizenship in the United States: 2009 shows a U.S. population of 307,007,000.

Clearly, if the total population of the United States cannot be estimated and reported, the number of non-citizens is also variable. The 2009 report shows 21,671,000 non-citizens and the 2010 poverty report shows 21,403,000.

This series explores the data, and estimates, in the 2010 poverty report so those figures will be used. The term “Hispanic” is used as in the rest of the series, and is treated as a race for data analysis purposes.

Seven percent of the U.S. population are non-citizens, and 12.4% of those living in poverty are non-citizens. All of the racial categories of non-citizens have higher rates of poverty than the U.S. population as a whole.

Non-citizens in America by race 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Non-citizens in America living in poverty 2010. Click on the chart for a larget image.

All charts were prepared from the data in the report by Charles Simmins.

The Census Bureau has released the 2010 report on poverty in America. Follow this site for in depth reports, and lots of charts, on this topic during the next week.

Being Hispanic is not a race thing. It’s an identity thing. Hispanics can be members of any race or any combination of races. The actions of a few Hispanics are unfairly used to tar them all.

Of 305.7 million Americans used as the baseline in the poverty report, Hispanics of all races were 49.9 million or 16.3% of the country’s residents. 12.3 million Hispanics are non-citizens. 75% of all Hispanics living in the United States are citizens.

26.6% of Hispanics are living in poverty. 32.3% of non-citizen Hispanics are living in poverty. Of the 13,243,000 Hispanics living in poverty, 3,995,000 are non-citizens. 70% of Hispanic Americans living in poverty are citizens.

Hispanic poverty in America by citizenship status. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Hispanic poverty in America from 1972 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Hispanic poverty in America from 1990 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Hispanic poverty rate in America from 1972 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Hispanic poverty rates in America from 1990 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Future pieces in this series will examine poverty in America by citizenship and will also look at wage equity for women.

All charts were prepared from the data in the report by Charles Simmins.

Click on a graph to see an enlarged image.

Clearly the earnings of both blacks and Hispanics over the last 17 years has improved significantly, with more of each population moving in to higher income levels.

The average income for all blacks in 2007 was $46,631. This is the third highest average in history, exceeded only by the years 1999 and 2000.

The average income for Hispanics in 2007 was $50,828. While it is lower than last year’s all-time record, it is higher than all years preceding 2000.

The graphs show that the poverty rate for both minorities is at near record lows. For blacks, only three Clinton years and three Bush years are lower.

A similar pattern appears in the graph of the Hispanic poverty rate. 2006 had the lowest Hispanic poverty rate on record.